Managing diversityLanguage Magazine"I know that I don't have a background in working with English language learners, but aren't you using far too many videos in your class?" said the district level administrator. "You need to make sure that you are teaching the curriculum 'as is.' We can't have you teaching any differently than the other teachers." The principal stood by silently after admitting unfamiliarity with best practice for ELs but sided with his supervisor. Unfortunately, variations on this conversation are being repeated in schools throughout the country.

The 4 C's of 21st century learning for ELLs: Critical thinkingBy: Erick Herrmann While all educators want to help students be successful in the future, the world is shrinking quickly, and our society is becoming more global in nature. What have been termed "the four C's" — critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity — are increasingly important skills for all students. In this series, we will explore teaching the four C's to English learners, examining areas of difficulty as well as instructional techniques to help incorporate these skills into instruction and learning.

TESOL Online Course: Grammar 1. Phrasal Structures
2 February – 1 March 2015
Learn how to define the basic grammatical terms, identify grammatical structures within sentences, and explain the structure of noun and verb phrases and the functions of the English verb tenses. Explore ways to incorporate communicative practice into your teaching plans and write teaching plans for grammar points. Limited space is available and registration closes 28 January. Thank you to TESOL's Grammar Partner, Oxford University Press.

Call for Proposals: Singapore 2015
TESOL invites you to submit a proposal for Excellence in Language Instruction: Supporting Classroom Teaching & Learning, a TESOL conference in Singapore. Organized in partnership with the National Institute of Education, this 2½ day event will feature leading experts in teacher education, classroom instruction, and international assessment. Submit your proposal today!

What the new Common Core tests are — and aren'tThe Washington Post At a Senate education committee hearing on how the No Child Left Behind law should be rewritten, the subject quickly turned to standardized testing and whether the federal government should maintain NCLB's annual testing mandate. Witnesses and legislators talked about the amount of time students are tested, the stakes tied to the scores for students and teachers, and the quality of the tests. Tom Boasberg, superintendent of Denver Public Schools, praised new Common Core tests as being more sophisticated than earlier standardized testing.

The past, present and future of high-stakes testingNPR After a long stretch as the law of the land, annual standardized tests are being put to, well, the test. Recently, the Senate education committee held a hearing on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind law and, specifically, on testing. The committee's chairman, Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has released a draft bill offering a lot more leeway to states in designing their own assessment systems. But Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the committee, have dug in their heels to say that annual tests should remain mandatory.

California's public schools are failing English learnersThe Sacramento BeeComing on the heels of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, we continue to hear calls to not just memorialize the civil rights movement in a holiday or movie, but to continue its legacy and mission. You don't have to look further than our classrooms to see where injustice persists, particularly for students designated as English learners.

Co-teaching offers new approach to learning for studentsCraig Daily PressStudents in Moffat County, Colorado, that don't speak English as their primary language are getting some extra help in the classroom this year. Moffat County School District's English language learners program expanded for the 2014-2015 school year to include four new ELL teachers, one dedicated to each elementary school. "The purpose of those teachers is to implement programming to help kids acquire English more quickly and be more successful in the English-speaking classroom," said East Elementary School principal Sarah Hepworth.

Mandan students learning English get high school creditBismarck TribuneStudents in Mandan, North Dakota, who do not speak English as their native language can get high school credit when they take a new course for English language learners. The Mandan School Board approved the curriculum at its meeting, superintendent Mike Bitz said. As is the case at schools throughout the state, Mandan has recently experienced an influx of students who do not speak English as their first language. In years past, the district had only five or six of those students at a time.

Inside the brain of a struggling readerDistrict Administration Magazine While home environment, access to books, and social and economic factors all play a part in children's literacy development, brain differences also play a crucial role. Left-brain activity in struggling readers is often underconnected — like two city suburbs that have only side streets for access. This part of the brain helps readers make the connection between letters and sounds, or phonemes — called "phonological processing."

How can your librarian help bolster brain-based teaching practices?MindShift Inquiry-based learning has been around in education circles for a long time, but many teachers and schools gradually moved away from it during the heyday of No Child Left Behind. The pendulum is beginning to swing back towards an inquiry-based approach to instruction thanks to standards such as Common Core State Standards for math and English Language Arts, the Next Generation Science Standards and the College, Career and Civic Life Framework for Social Studies State Standards. Transitioning to this style of teaching requires students to take a more active role and asks teachers to step back into a supportive position. It can be a tough transition for many students and their teachers, but turning to the school librarian for support could make the transition a little easier.

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Top 5 education trends for 2015By: Archita Datta Majumdar 2015 is going to be an exciting year for learning, across all segments. Experts predict this will primarily be due to the mind-blowing convergence between learning habits and technology use. Changes and development in technology will define the way we learn in future as the "ed tech" market is steadily growing — it's slated to become a $19 billion industry by 2018. A look at some key trends in the news will perhaps show where we are headed and how we should prepare our students for the future.

5 productivity skills every educator must haveTHE Journal Educators literally have a "world of knowledge and resources" at their fingertips, as one director of curriculum and instructional technology declared in response to THE Journal's national survey. "What better way to learn about the situation in Syria than tweeting #Syria and receiving a tweet from someone there?" But guiding your students in learning new concepts, gaining insights and building their skills requires you to be comfortable with the technologies that can make all of that happen.

The TESOL English Language Bulletin is presented as a service to members of TESOL International Association and other English language teaching professionals. For information about TESOL member benefits, visit www.tesol.org or contact us at membership@tesol.org.

TESOL English Language Bulletin is a digest of the most important news selected for TESOL International Association from thousands of sources by the editors of MultiBriefs, an independent organization that also manages and sells advertising. TESOL International Association does not endorse any of the advertised products and services. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the author and not of TESOL.